Great numbers of beverages and other liquids are packaged in glass, plastic, or aluminum containers having narrowed necks which are closed with crimped-on cap closures. Traditionally, such caps have been removed with lever devices which opened the container but also destroyed the cap. Other opening assist devices have included open rings e.g. with directional grooves as in Rinehart U.S. Pat. No. 2,631,482 or other rib expedients as in Waterhouse U.S. Pat. No. 1,924,579 Brooks et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,865 U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 261,854 and 281,051 both to Nielsen, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 277,160 to Antone, and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 280,594 to Dow. A device with a closed ring configuration is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,741 to Heine, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,952,660 to Dryden. Dryden's device is an oversize cup which can be pressed into shape over the cap to be removed, Heine's remover is rigid and uses the end wall to assist in cap removal.
The common failing of these and like prior art devices is the lack of added mechanical advantage and an absence of structure complimentary to the hand to facilitate use and easy removal of caps.